This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1478436
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1478436
Consider this: The Repubs are against regulations that protect the public.
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“In the U.S., airlines must comply with federal aviation regulations”
Until the Supreme Court decides doors blowing off airplanes is just an unfortunate byproduct of a free, unfettered, unregulated marketplace.
Like school kids and guns.
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SNL’s skit:
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Will Aeroflot become a US carrier?
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I think they believe people are just too squeamish.
You know, about things like throwing in the towel for the benefit of Texas’ economy, or enduring the possibility of getting gunned down in any number of public places, or of enduring a lingering and painful death as a result of the liberties of the local chemical manufacturer.
Oh, and they’re so picky about the freshness of their water and the possibility that their food might be adulterated with melamine.
People just shouldn’t be so demanding. All of these accommodations cost money and eat into the business’s profit margin, after all.
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Same shit, different company
‘Greedflation’ caused more than half of last year’s inflation surge, study finds, as corporate profits remain at all-time highs (msn.com)
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I’m all for air safety (I fly a lot, especially on Alaska airlines), but I think this article misses the point. The number of exits needed is based on the number of passengers on board and how fast they need to exit in an emergency. If you cram the fuselage with passengers as some airlines do, you need the extra exits. If you have fewer seats you need a lesser number.
The more important economic story is the short-cuts Boeing and its supplier Spirit have taken to save money (see Spirit AeroSystems lawsuit. Cut corners on inspections, punish workers who speak up, and you get an incident like this (and there are other issues in recent years with the supplier’s quality too). Although Spirit is a separate company, it was spun off from Boeing and operates a former Boeing plant and its CEO is a former Boeing manager. It sells only to Boeing and Boeing buys 737 MAX fuselages only from Spirit, so they are in essence one and the same. Now Boeing and Alaska are adding extra inspectors, which should have been there all along. That’s where they were saving money and short changing safety.
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Well, we heard testimony on Democracy Now last week that Texas legislators are most definitely “too squeamish.” They had a representative from the Uvalde district of the Lege talking about the fed’s report on the school shooting a few years back. He described in graphic detail like I’ve never heard on the “mainstream” news platforns the bloody, mutilated bodies of small children, being dragged out of the school by their legs and other horrific scenes from the many available cellphone, news, and bodycam videos.
He spoke to his fellow legislators, including US Senators and Representatives, about the horror of what he had seen and how they needed to take action. They told him, with straight faces, that Oh, we don’t watch those.
Willful blindness. That’s how you keep the faith.
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Aeroflot and the entire Russian civil aviation industry has just 7 years to keep flying before it collapses completely due to Western sanctions. They’re flying Boeing and Airbus aircraft that will run out of parts or just be timed out for safe flying by then. They haven’t managed to produce their own alternative Sukhoi or Ilyushin airliners to replace them, due to typical Russian corruption and incompetence. So the answer is a big nope.
China on the other hand, wants to get in the game and they might eventually be a threat to Boeing and Airbus in the civil aviation market.
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Remember, “shareholder value” is the Republican, Wall St, and US Chamber of Commerce mantra. Not safety, not good employee relations, customer service, or health of the communities the company serves.
So saving money on doors, bolts and employee training is exactly what a company should do, to return “value” in the form of dividends, executive pay and stock buybacks.
What could possibly go wrong?
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I’m trying to wrap my head around accidents and disasters that nobody seems to care about. I’m not sure when an accident becomes big enough for people to care, or change their behaviors. But as we have seen not even a FGP scared people enough to take measures that would help protect them from death.
Has anyone seen the number of mass shootings that happened specifically under the NRA with Wayne LaPierre’s as it’s CEO?
I seem to remember unconcern pre-Unsafe At Any Speed and post concern.
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Under the label of Republicans one must be sure to include the Supreme Court. The court is about the gut the regulatory power of the EPA and other federal agencies. Don’t forget there was no EPA when the Constitution was written and for many decades after.
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Well, the public didn’t mind building safer highways but the Big Three fought safety improvements to their products. Now seat belts, air bags, crumple zones, child seats and attachment points, and intrusion beams are accepted parts of design.
Not that design can prevent stupidity. In almost every car crash where a passenger was ejected, they were not wearing a seat belt.
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And there was no powered air flight. How can the FAA and NTSB manage air safety if the founders historical record does not mention it?
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“We could, after all, raise prices and provide better products and services that people need. Unfortunately, our system of capitalism gives the trophy to the company with the LOWER prices.”
“Take the money out of our profits? Yer joking, right? Unfortunately, our religion awards grace to prosperity.”
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We created this monster when Carter signed legislation to deregulate the industry. The government needs to take it back. I mean, we bail them out ALL the TIME.
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So, once the Supremes destroy regulation we should expect to see Aeroflot used aircraft sales lots springing up on every street corner?
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Wow.
Not even a “Can Biden Keep It Going?” They’d do that for Donald.
Better yet. Try patriotism. Can America Keep It Going?
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